Wind the clock back 50 years and you would have seen a rare sight on the River Thames – a ship arriving with Europe’s first cargo of MDF.
The Seaboard bulk carrier docking at Tilbury had journeyed from the US West Coast with a consignment from the Medford Corporation’s MDF factory, having travelled through the Panama Canal and across the Atlantic to introduce MEDITE MDF to an awaiting marketplace.
The 50th anniversary of MEDITE in Europe is a milestone for the brand and shows how long MDF has been used in this country.
Chris King, managing director – commercial at MEDITE SMARTPLY, reflected on the landmark when TTJ met him at the company’s Dartford office.
“Any business which can survive the passage of time is a testament to how robust it is,” he said.
“Getting to 50 years is a tremendous achievement. It would be called a disruptor in today’s marketplace – a new product coming into an established market.
“The success was ultimately defined by the commissioning of the MEDITE manufacturing facility in Clonmel, Ireland, just seven years after its entrance into the marketplace. Within the first year of the facility in operation, it sold out its product capacity to Europe.”
Operating 24/7, the Clonmel facility produces approximately 400,000m of MDF products each year for a range of applications, including the Tricoya modified MDF panel designed for exterior end-uses: MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME (MTX)
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